InDOT tries wildflowers in medians to beautify roads, reduce costs

InDOT tries wildflowers in medians to beautify roads, reduce costs

All of a sudden some beautiful fields of wildflowers are adorning certain areas along and around state highways in northern Indiana, and officials say there will be more of them during the next few years. Two sites in Marshall County stand out. White, purple and pink flowers called cosmos at the interchange of Michigan Street and U.S. 30 on Plymouth's north side and in the median just north of where Michigan Road merges into U.S. 31 have motorists buzzing about how beautiful they are. It's all part of the Indiana Department of Transportation's Wildflower Program, and LaPorte District landscape architect Cindee McKie says its goal is not only to beautify the state, but to cut down on the need to mow weeds and high grass along Indiana's highways. McKie says the cosmos planted last spring are annual flowers that will reseed themselves for only a few years, but the seeds of perennials native to Indiana, such as purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans and coreopsis, are mixed in with them and will start flourishing next year. "We're trying to stay as close to native as we can," McKie said. Dan McCarver, landscape coordinator with InDOT, said the grass was sprayed first, in order to kill it, and then the flowers were planted. Then the seeds were planted. Weed control has proved to be a learning experience, he said, because some weed killers also kill the kinds of flowers being planted, so other methods must be found. The seeds and plants were cultivated by J.F. New nurseries, McKie said, but the goal is for InDOT to begin collecting the seeds once the plants get established, reducing the long-term costs. McKie did not have a total cost for the projects, but the goal is to have a program that will cost less than current costs to mow the areas. The costs are higher in the beginning, she said, because of the seeds and planting, but many of those are one-time costs. She says that initially, InDOT is planting wildflowers in high-visibility areas and in places where they can be more easily maintained. Next year, McKie said, the LaPorte District will plant wildflowers in more areas along U.S. 31 from U.S. 30 near Plymouth to Indiana 25 at Rochester. The LaPorte District along with the Crawfordsville District are the two districts in the state testing the program. Rex Clippinger lives on North Michigan Road, just before the road merges with U.S. 31. The flowers are in three separate strips around the interchange and only about a quarter of a mile from Clippinger's house. "I think they do a lot to enhance the beautification of the road, but I wonder how much they cost," Clippinger said. "Maybe it's one way the state can save some money by not having to mow so much." Howard Menser and his wife, Phyllis, live about a block from the wildflower field at the interchange of Indiana 17 and U.S. 30. Phyllis Menser said she really likes the flowers and thinks they're beautiful and would like to see a lot more of them in the future. Howard Menser has seen something similar in other states and is glad Indiana is doing it now.